MODEL

Portrait of a Learner 9-12

Systems Change

Visual Processing

Factor Connections

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Visual Processing is what happens when we take the input that comes through our Vision and use cognitive processes to understand what we see. Visual Processing skills help students recognize and order visual information, allowing them to read, to correctly copy and solve problems, and represent and work with diagrams, drawings, and shapes. Learners with dyslexia or dyscalculia may demonstrate differences with their Visual Processing of words and numbers, which may stem from difficulties with Phonological Awareness, and can disrupt the process of visual Attention.

Main Ideas

Difficulties with Visual Processing can occur even when a student has good Vision. Visual Processing impacts learning and development in multiple ways:

  • Visual Discrimination is the ability to identify different visual stimuli. This allows students to distinguish different letters, numbers and symbols and to differentiate objects from their background.
  • Visual Sequencing is the ability to determine the order of images, words, letters, numbers, or symbols.
  • Visual Motor Integration is the ability of the eyes and body to work together in a coordinated manner, which relies on both visual spatial discrimination and motor skills. In younger adolescents, visual motor integration skills are associated with increased academic performance, likely because visual motor integration underlies executive functioning and skills like reading and writing that are crucial for acquiring Core Academic Literacies.
  • Visual Spatial Processing, is the ability to recognize the relation of objects in space to one another and to oneself. These Spatial Skills are important for determining the arrangement of letters, numbers, and symbols on a page and for mentally manipulating and making inferences about shapes and objects. These skills support executive functioning, and are key to developing Core Academic Literacies including science, technology, engineering, math, and the arts.

Educators can play a key role in supporting students who struggle with Visual Processing. For example, educators can present lessons in multiple modalities, provide feedback both visually and verbally, and can encourage students to take breaks if they feel overwhelmed by the need to process visual input. When learners are exposed to and supported in spatial learning from early on, these benefits support their spatial learning and thinking into adolescence.

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